Alabama congressional delegation ranked among the worst by League of Conservation Voters

WASHINGTON -- A leading environmental watchdog has ranked Alabama's GOP-dominated congressional delegation as among the worst in protecting public health and preserving the environment.

The League of Conservation Voters focused on 35 votes from last year on issues such as offshore drilling, flood insurance, renewable energy, air pollution, endangered species and the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency. Members who voted what the group labeled as the "pro-environment" position most often scored the highest.

Alabama's average score in the U.S. House was 21 out of 100. Only 13 states, mostly in the western plains, scored lower.

Within Alabama's House delegation, six of the seven members scored 14 or less. The score of the lone Democrat, Rep. Terri Sewell of Birmingham, was 80. The average score of all 435 House members was 45.

"In 2011, the House Republican leadership unleashed a truly breathtaking and unprecedented assault on the environment and public health, the breadth and depth of which have made the current U.S. House of Representatives the most anti-environmental in our nation's history," said LCV President Gene Karpinski.

In several confrontations on the House floor last year, House Republicans argued that certain environmental regulations were too strict and burdened businesses and industries, keeping them from expanding and adding jobs.

Bachus' office made no apologies for his score.

"Congressman Bachus was criticized for his votes to build the Keystone pipeline and to prevent harmful regulations on cement plants and coal mines that could cost hundreds, if not thousands of jobs in Alabama," spokesman Tim Johnson said. "He is proud of his record of fighting for jobs and environmental conservation, but does not expect to get a high rating from a liberal organization."

In two out of the 35 votes LCV analyzed, all seven members of the Alabama delegation favored the group's "pro-environment" position: voting yes for the National Flood Insurance Reform Act to increase rates for buying flood insurance; and against an amendment that would have eliminated funding for the Department of Energy's energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

On seven votes, all seven members took what the group called the anti-environment position, including votes to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act and to delay tougher standards for boilers and cement plants on their emissions of mercury and other toxic substances.

"We applaud Rep. Terri Sewell as she was the lone member of the Alabama delegation who opposed most of the countless attacks on vital public health and environmental protections in 2011," said Conservation Alabama's Executive Director Adam Snyder.

In the Senate, where the LCV based its scores on 11 votes, Alabama's average score was 14. Ten other states were equal or lower.

In only one vote did both Alabama senators take LCV's pro-environment position, and that was to eliminate subsidies for ethanol production. Shelby scored higher than Sessions in part because they voted differently on a bill that LCV argues would have weakened government oversight of new and expanded offshore drilling.